Found: Neftali Feliz's Changeup

Neftali Feliz's career as a big league starting pitcher got off to a great start last night. The Rangers' former closer tossed seven shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners, giving up four hits, striking out four and walking two.

A starter in the Atlanta and Texas systems before moving to the 'pen in 2009, Feliz bested batters as a reliever with brute force. He unleashed his mid-to-upper-90s fastball nearly 80% of the time, occasionally breaking off a low-80s slider or very rarely an upper-80s changeup. Feliz retained his velocity well last night, averaging 94.1 mph. But, as ESPNDallas' Richard Durrett notes, Feliz relied heavily on his secondary stuff:

He threw a steady diet of fastballs early and established it, then -- when the lineup came up a second time -- Napoli had Feliz throw more off-speed stuff. Feliz's slider was in the low 80 mph range and the changeup was anywhere from 84 to 88 mph. Feliz said he can alter the speed on his changeup by a few miles per hour by tweaking his grip, something he worked on in Surprise, Ariz., this spring.

"I noticed his changeup was on," Napoli said. "We were going with it, and it was a good pitch for him tonight. That can change from night to night. That's what you've got to do as a starter. You can't just go out and throw fastballs every single time through the lineup. You've got to be able to mix it up, and he did that."

Feliz certainly did mix it up. He threw his fastball just 51% of the time, going to his slider 26% and his changeup 23%. As a reliever, he threw his changeup four only four percent of the time. Feliz's slider wasn't especially sharp, with 32% crossing the plate and the M's mostly laying off the pitch. But, facing a lineup with seven left-handed hitters, Feliz peppered the zone with his changeup:

Feliz's changeup location vs. Seattle, 4/10/12

Seventy-two percent of Feliz's changeups were in the zone, compared to 46% during his closer days. Seattle went a collective 1-for-8 against the change, with Chone Figgins and Miguel Olivo punching out on the pitch. Feliz's changeup had an 8-9 mph differential from his fastball. It complemented his heater, which sat high in the zone:

Feliz's fastball location vs. Seattle, 4/10/12

It was just one start against an admittedly light-hitting lineup. Still, it's encouraging that Feliz varied his pitch selection, dusted off his changeup and showed quality control of the offering. Flinging fastballs four-fifths of the time might work in short stints, but not while facing the same hitters two or three times. Feliz already seems well aware of that, which should limit his growing pains as a starter.

Yu Darvish vs. Ichiro

While Yu Darvish opened his MLB career with a win over the Mariners last night, that was more the product of Texas teeing off on Hector Noesi than the $112 million man's great outing. Darvish allowed five runs in 5.2 innings, surrendering eight hits while striking out five batters and walking four.

The matchup eagerly anticipated by seamheads ten time zones apart was Darvish vs. Ichiro. The first tilt between the former Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters ace and Sawamura winner and the erstwhile Orix BlueWave and three-time Pacific League MVP went in Ichiro's favor. Here's a quick look at how Ichiro went 3-for-4 against the latest Japanese star to make the jump to MLB.

First Inning

Darvish started Ichiro off with a 92 mph cutter, which was generously called a ball. Ichiro then fouled off a 95 mph four-seamer thrown up and away, took a 94 mph four-seamer inside for a ball and fouled off two more 94 mph four-seamers. With a 2-2 count, Darvish reared back, fired a 96 mph four-seamer and missed over the heart of the plate. Ichiro lined the pitch into left field for a single.

Second Inning

Darvish fell behind Ichiro again by missing way outside with a 93 mph two-seamer and then just missing low and inside with a 92 mph four-seamer. Down 2-0, Darvish left another four-seamer over the middle of the plate that Ichiro clubbed over right fielder Nelson Cruz's head for a double.

Fourth Inning

In the fourth, Darvish yet again got behind in the count by narrowly missing low and inside with an 80 mph slider and then well outside with a 92 mph four-seamer. Ichiro fouled off a 92 mph four-seamer on the outer third of the plate and took a 93 mph four-seamer low and inside to make it a 3-1 count. Darvish made one of his best pitches of the night, hitting the black with a 93 mph four-seamer thrown away that produced a ground out.

Sixth Inning

Darvish tried to stay away from Ichiro in their final battle. Ichiro took a 93 mph four-seamer outside for a ball, poked a 92 mph four-seamer foul that was way outside, and then took an 82 mph slider in the dirt to work a 2-1 count. Darvish then tried to hit the outside corner again, but the pitch was high and Ichiro singled to center field.

 

Overall, 15 of the 18 pitches Darvish threw to Ichiro were fastballs. Darvish fell behind in the count in each AB, and poor fastball command led to three base knocks. At least until the NPB stars match up again, Ichiro has bragging rights.

Rangers Extend Derek Holland

By the time Rangers starter Derek Holland's contract extension is through, he might even be able to grow a full-blown 'stache. The 25-year-old lefty agreed to terms on a five-year, $28 million deal with club options for 2017 ($11 million) and 2018 ($11.5 million). Holland's pact is pretty similar to the extensions signed by Yovani Gallardo, Ricky Romero, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Trevor Cahill in recent years.

Holland is coming off a successful first full season in the big league rotation, posting a 113 ERA+ in 198 innings with 7.4 K/9, 3 BB/9 and 1 HR/9. He showed plenty of zip on his fastball and a solid slider, but to emerge as an ace and better handle right-handed hitters, Holland must fine-tune his curveball and changeup.

After sitting around 92 mph the previous two years, Holland gained fastball velocity throughout the 2011 season (going from 93 mph in April to 94.8 mph in September) and averaged 94.1 mph overall. Tampa's David Price was the only lefty to do a better job of lighting up the gun. Holland's heat had a healthy miss rate (17%, compared to the 14-15% average for starters), and few hitters made forceful contact when they did connect. Here's his in-play slugging percentage with the fastball in 2011, and then the league average:

Hitters' in-play slugging percentage vs. Holland's fastball, 2011

Average in-play slugging percentage vs. fastballs, 2011

Batters slugged just .362 versus Holland's fastball, placing him between Justin Verlander and Price in the top 10 among AL starters. Lefties had a harder time against Holland's fastball (.290 slugging) than righties (.390), but that righty slugging percentage was still well below the .424 overall average for starters this past year.

Holland's low-80's slider got plenty of misses (36%, versus the 29% average for starters), but the pitch was much more effective against fellow left-handers (.273 slugging percentage) than righties (.388 slugging percentage, above the .353 overall average for starters in 2011). That's not unusual -- sliders typically have a big platoon split. Lefty pitchers held lefties to a .285 slugging percentage on sliders in 2011, but a righties managed a .353 slugging percentage.

Curveballs and changeups are pitches that tend to be more effective against opposite-handed hitters than sliders, but that wasn't the case for Holland. Righties crushed Holland's curve (.582 slugging percentage), particularly on pitches that hugged the corners of the strike zone:

Righty hitters' in-play slugging percentage vs. Holland's curve, 2011

Against the changeup, batters blasted pitches that Holland left down the middle while slugging .490 overall:

Righty hitters' in-play slugging percentage vs. Holland's changeup, 2011

By virtue of his fastball, Holland is already a quality starter with room for growth. But with his best secondary offering being a slider with a big platoon split and opposite-handers teeing off on his curve and changeup, Holland fared much better versus lefties (.235/.284/.316) than righties (.272/.339/.426). The Dutchstache is a quality curveball or changeup away from dominating.